Counter Edge Guard

ABSTRACT

A counter edge guard formed of a durable, semi-rigid material for protecting a countertop and the edge of a countertop. The edge guard has a first, main elongated section that is substantially flat over the bottom surface area. A second, side elongated section that is substantially flat over a second bottom surface is joined to the first, main elongated section at a corner joint having an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the first, main section. An optional third elongated portion is joined to the first, main section opposite the second, side section. The length of the elongated sections is much greater than the width of these sections. The counter edge guard is placed over a counter to protect the counter and the counter edge.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application claims priority benefit from U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/181,134, filed on Jun. 17, 2015.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Portions of this disclosure contain material in which copyright isclaimed by the applicant. The applicant has no objection to the copyingof this material in the course of making copies of the application fileor any patents that may issue on the application, but all other rightswhatsoever in the copyrighted material are reserved.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to protective covers forcountertops, and more particularly to a removable cover for use with acountertop to prevent damage that may occur from regular everyday use.

Countertops are a major investment for a homeowner. In today's buildingbusiness, it is common practice to install various types of countertopsincluding marble, granite, tile, wood, cement, glass and other materialsthat may be difficult or easy to clean. A major problem with any ofthese materials, even materials that are formed of stone, is that theycan be damaged in everyday use. It is not uncommon for a counter,particularly at an exposed edge to be nicked or chipped by a pot or panor other utensils during use or cleaning. The problem is particularlyacute in the area surrounding a sink. For this reason, a variety ofprotective devices have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No.8,088,468 to Maggio, entitled Edge Guard for Undermount Sinks isdirected to a protective cover for lining one or more edges of acountertop. The Maggio edge guard includes a strip of pliable materialwith two longitudinal edges, each with a plurality of cuts that formfoldable flaps. The cuts are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinaledges. A suction pad is used to attach each foldable flap to an interiorledge of the countertop or a side of the sink. The Maggio edge guard isunattractive and is not something that a homeowner would leave on thecountertop on a permanent basis. Other protective liners or mats arealso known, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,856 to Dore and Pat. No.6,338,171 to Dandridge. However, the designs in those patents havesimilar drawbacks to Maggio.

The present invention is a countertop edge guard that is designed tosnugly fit over sections of the counter, including an edge. The edgeguard protects the countertop, including the edge while also providingan attractive, protective cover that a homeowner can leave in place atmost times, but that is easily removable for cleaning the countertop andthe edge guard as required. The edge guard may be formed with a surfacepattern to match the countertop, or to otherwise add to the aestheticsof the room in which the counter is located.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show moreclearly how it functions, reference will now be made, by way of example,to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show embodiments of thepresent invention in which:

FIGS. 1A-D show a counter edge guard in a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 2A-C show a counter edge guard in a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3A-C show a counter edge guard in a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 4A-C show a counter edge guard in a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a counter edge guard of the present invention shown over acounter around a sink.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the inventionmay be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein. Throughout FIGS. 1-5, likeelements of the invention are referred to by the same reference numeralsfor consistency purposes.

The present invention is an edge guard for a counter golf. The edgeguard is a removable cover for use on a countertop to prevent damagethat may occur from regular every day use. There are a number ofdifferent embodiments.

FIGS. 1A-D show a first embodiment of an edge guard 100 for use on acountertop 105 with countertop edge 110 shown as a dotted line that isprotected under edge guard 100. Edge guard 100 is in an L-shapedconfiguration. In this configuration, edge guard 100 is formed with afirst elongated portion 115 and a second elongated portion 120 that cometogether along a corner joint 125 where the angle between firstelongated portion 115 and second elongated portion 120 is approximatelyninety degrees (90°), which is typically the angle between a top surface130 of countertop 105 and a side surface 135 of countertop 105. As canbe seen in FIGS. 1A-D, the length of each of elongated portions 115, 120is far greater than the width of each elongated portion 115, 120. Whilethe dimensions may be different for any particular edge guard,representative dimensions are shown in FIGS. 1B-C where all measurementsare provided in inches and the term “R” represents a roundingmeasurement by a degree of “roundness” or “radius size” at a corner,such as at a ninety degree (90°) corner as shown in detail in FIG. 1C.

FIGS. 2A-C show a second embodiment of an edge guard 200 for use on acounter 205 in an area surrounding an undermount sink or other cut-outin countertop 205 where the edge guard extends from a first squared side235 to a second, rounded or bull-nosed side 240 over a portion ofcountertop area 230 that typically surrounds the interior perimeter ofthe cutout for a sink. In this configuration, all of the components ofan edge guard 200 are similar to those shown for edge guard 100 in FIGS.1A-1C, including a first elongated portion 215, a second elongatedportion 220 and a corner joint 225. In the second embodiment, a roundedor bull-nosed elongated portion 245 of edge guard 200 is joined to asecond side of first elongated portion 215 opposite second elongatedportion 220. This configuration allows edge guard 200 to fit overportion 230 of countertop 205 between the edge and the cut out.

Edge guard 200 is formed of a durable, semi-rigid material which may berubber, vinyl, plastic or another suitable material with a limited rangeof flexibility. Edge guard 200 is designed to snugly fit over sectionsof a countertop, including over an edge 250. Edge guard 200 protectscountertop 205, including edge 210 while also providing an attractive,protective cover that a homeowner can leave in place at most times, butthat is easily removable for cleaning the countertop and the edge guardas required. Edge guard 200 may be formed with a surface pattern tomatch the countertop, to be decorative, or to otherwise add to theaesthetics of the room in which the countertop is located. In theembodiment of FIGS. 2A-C, edge guard 200 may be “snapped” into placeover countertop portion 230. This is done by placing corner joint 225along edge 210 and pressing down on first elongated portion 215 until itflexes and bull-nosed elongated portion 245 snaps into place overcorresponding bull-nosed side 240 of counter 205.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2A-C, the length of each of elongated portions215, 220, 245 is far greater than the width of each elongated portion215, 220, 245. While the dimensions may be different for any particularedge guard, representative dimensions are shown in FIGS. 2B-C where allmeasurements are provided in inches and “R” represents the radiusmeasurement of the corner.

FIGS. 3A-C show a counter edge guard 300 in a third embodiment of thepresent invention that is generally similar to counter edge guard 200 ofFIGS. 2A-C except with different dimensions for bull-nosed elongatedportion 345. In this embodiment, bull-nosed elongated portion is deeperand is intended to fit over a thicker countertop 305.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3A-C, the length of each of elongated portions315, 320, 345 is far greater than the width of each elongated portion315, 320, 345. While the dimensions may be different for any particularedge guard, representative dimensions are shown in FIGS. 3B-C where allmeasurements are provided in inches.

FIGS. 4A-C show a counter edge guard in a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention that is generally similar to counter edge guards 200and 300 of FIGS. 2A-C and FIGS. 3A-C, respectively, except withdifferent dimensions for bull-nosed elongated portion 445. In thisembodiment, bull-nosed elongated portion is even deeper than in FIGS.3A-C and is intended to fit over a very thick countertop 405.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4A-C, the length of each of elongated portions415, 420, 445 is far greater than the width of each elongated portion415, 420, 445. While the dimensions may be different for any particularedge guard, representative dimensions are shown in FIGS. 4B-C where allmeasurements are provided in inches.

FIG. 5 is a counter edge guard 100 of the present invention shown over acounter 105 around a portion of a sink.

For all of the different embodiments, it may be desirable to include alayer of non-slip material on one or more of the interior surfaces ofthe edge guard to hold it in place against the counter and to prevent itfrom scratching the countertop over which it is fitted. Such materialmay also provide cushioning against the counter to improve the feel fora user pushing down on the edge guard. Such material may be made ofsilicone or another gel, or it may be simply a relatively high frictionmaterial such as rubber or vinyl.

Edge guards 100, 200, 300 and 400 may also be produced with an ornate oraesthetically pleasing decorative design on the upper surface. Thedesign may be chosen to match or complement the counter on which it isto be produced, either as part of a standard catalog of designs or acustom design chosen by a person buying it.

It is to be understood that the above descriptions and drawings are onlyfor illustrating representative variations of the present invention andare not intended to limit the scope thereof. Any variation andderivation from the above description and drawings are included in thescope of the present invention. For example, counter dimensions for anyparticular counter, including the area surrounding a sink or othercut-out area vary greatly. The edge guard of the present invention maybe formed to accommodate any countertop by varying the dimensions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A counter edge guard apparatus formed of adurable, semi-rigid material, comprising: a first elongated portion thatis substantially flat over a first bottom surface area with a firstlength and a first width, wherein the first length is greater than thefirst width; a second elongated portion that is substantially flat overa second bottom surface with a second length and a second width, whereinthe second length is approximately equal to the first length and thesecond elongated portion is joined to the first elongated portion at acorner joint having an angle that is approximately perpendicular alongthe first and second length; and wherein, when the counter edge guard isplaced over a counter, the first bottom surface contacts a top,horizontal surface of a counter, the second bottom surface contacts aside, vertical surface of a counter, and an edge surface along thecorner joint contacts an edge of a counter between the top, horizontalsurface and the side, vertical surface of the counter.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein the durable, semi-rigid material is formed from oneof a group comprising rubber, vinyl and plastic.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising an interior surface layer of adhesivematerial covering a substantial portion of at least one of the firstbottom surface, the second bottom surface and the edge surface, and thatprovides a removable contact against the counter.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising a third elongated rounded portion that isrounded in shape across a third bottom surface with a third length and athird width, wherein the third length is approximately equal to thefirst and second lengths, and the third elongated rounded portion isjoined to the first elongated portion opposite the second elongatedportion such that the rounded portion substantially matches an opposingrounded side portion of a counter.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a decorative design printed on an exposed surface of theapparatus.